Polishing machine and method of attaching emery cloth to the polishing machine

Abstract

A polishing machine has an upper polishing plate and a lower polishing plate provided below the upper polishing plate. The upper polishing plate has slurry passages. Plugs for supplying slurry are detachably quick coupled to the slurry passages. A piece of polishing pad is bonded to the lower surface of the upper polishing plate. After a spent polishing pad has been removed and a fresh polishing pad has been attached to the lower surface of the upper polishing plate, a hole-cutter is downwardly inserted in each slurry passage until it pierces the fresh polishing pad, thus cutting a hole in the polishing pad.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of attaching emery cloth to a machine which can simultaneously polish a plurality of workpieces with slurry and which comprises an upper polishing plate with slurry passages, a lower plate for supporting workpieces, emergy cloth adhered to a lower surface of said upper polishing plate, and plugs attached to said upper polishing plate for supplying slurry to said slurry passages, said method comprising the steps of: (a) detaching said plugs from said upper polishing plate;   (b) adhering new emergy cloth to said lower surface of said upper polishing plate; then   (c) placing a cushion plate on said lower polishing plate; then   (d) setting said upper polishing plate on said cushion plate; and then   (e) inserting a hole cutter downwardly from said upper surface of said upper polishing plate into said slurry passages until the tip of the hole cutter pierces said new emery cloth adhered to said lower surface of said upper polishing plate, thereby cutting holes in said new emery cloth which communicate with said slurry passages.   
     
     
       2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said cushion plate is so soft that the tip of said hole-cutter can bite into it without being broken. 
     
     
       3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the tip of said hole-cutter is sharp. 
     
     
       4. A method of attaching a new polishing pad to a machine for simultaneously polishing a plurality of work pieces with slurry, said machine comprising: 
     
     
       (a) a lower plate for supporting workpieces mounted thereon; (b) an upper plate provided above said lower plate for polishing the upper surface of each workpiece mounted on said lower plate, said upper plate having a plurality of slurry passages therethrough, each one of said plurality of slurry passages having a smooth, unthreaded circumferential face at its upper end;   (c) a polishing pad attached to the lower surface of said upper plate, said polishing pad having a plurality of holes therethrough, each one of said holes being in registry with the lower end of a corresponding one on said slurry passages;   (d) slurry supply means for supplying slurry to said plurality of slurry passages, said slurry supply means comprising a plurality of hoses each one of which ends in a coupling having a smooth, unthreaded outer circumferential face, each of said couplings being sized and shaped to be received and frictionally held in the upper end of a corresponding one of said plurality of slurry passages; and   (e) means for rotating at least one of said upper and lower plates,   said method comprising the steps of:   (f) detaching said couplings from said upper plate;   (g) placing a cushion plate on the upper surface of said lower plate;   (h) removing said polishing pad from the lower surface of said upper plate;   (i) adhering a new polishing pad to the lower surface of said upper plate; then   (j) setting said upper plate on said cushion plate; and then   (k) inserting a hole-cutter downwardly through each one of said slurry passages in said upper plate and cutting a hole in said new polishing pad with the hole-cutter inserted in each one of said slurry passages in said upper plate.